AP Defends Photo as "Fake but Accurate"
Release from the Associated Press:
Photo of Kidnapped Soldier Fake, But Accurate
London: We are working hard to authenticate the photograph of the American Soldier we reported kidnapped by Islamic
terroristsfreedom fighters. A number of extremist right-wing reactionary bloggers have accused the AP of being duped by a photo of an action figure propped against a cement block. Bloggers point to differences in clothing vs. standard US combat gear as well as a similarity in appearance to the "Cody" action figure.The AP stands by its story. We have engaged a world famous collector of 1970's Barbie dolls that we met in an eBay chat room who has assured us that no action figure clothing ever made could possibly match what is shown in the photo. We are meeting with our expert next month at the Houston rodeo to review his findings.
Even if the photo is eventually determined to be fake, we still believe it is an accurate representation of our need to find a negative story in Iraq to counterbalance the positive press President Bush has gotten after the recent elections.
And, in a related story... well, not really related, except it is also about Iraq... OK, actually its related only because I am too lazy to start a new post:
UN officials reacted strongly to the attacks on its recent blogads taking credit for the recent Iraqi election. Critics called the ads rank hypocrisy, given the fact that the UN funneled over $20 billion of food money to Saddam, opposed the overthrow of Saddam, and cut-and-run from helping to rebuild Iraq at the first sign of violence. The UN said that the ads were perfectly consistent with its policy, since it "was against elections before it was for them."
Interviews of Iraqi citizens on the street showed strong support for the UN's lack of support. Said one Iraqi who asked to remain anonymous, "given the UN peacekeepers terrible performance in Kosovo and their serial rape and white slavery in the Congo and their sanctioning of genocide in the Sudan, we haven't really missed them."
